Chapter Text
The whole ordeal had been much simpler than Edgeworth had anticipated. After getting what he came for and dying inside from embarrassment, he’d simply gone back to his car and driven back home. Pess had been a little grumpy, but Edgeworth, after the initial dread he’d felt from telling a man he’d just met straight to his face that he could marry him, was happy. He had his honey, and he even knew where to get more honey based products should the need for them ever arrive.
Of course, he’d have to face Wright again and apologize to him for his highly inappropriate behavior, while also explaining that he had no intention of marrying him, because of the simple fact that they’d just met. Not that Wright wasn’t a very attractive man with his bright smile and admittedly very nice arms, but it would be foolish to think that their relationship would ever be anything more than that of a customer and a business owner.
Still, for reasons unknown, that cursed smile simply would not leave his mind.
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It was maybe a week later that Edgeworth had an idea that he was frankly quite shocked he’d never had earlier.
He worked a boring desk job, complete with slightly irritating coworkers and a stereotypical office water cooler. His days consisted of him reviewing files, writing files, scrapping files, and making sure other workers did their jobs. However, one simple thing in the break room was particularly interesting. An electric kettle.
How on earth had he never thought of it before? He could simply bring some tea and honey to work and possibly double his productivity by enjoying his favorite drink a few times throughout the day! Well, bags of tea wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable as the high quality tea leaves he had at home, but they would suffice.
His idea, however, lead to a realization; sharing a jar of honey for both his workplace and his house would be entirely too troublesome. So this, of course, meant that he’d have to take another trip to a certain beekeeper, so that was his plan for the day. Get off work and drive off to the small town marketplace to get another jar of honey.
“Mr. Edgeworth, sir!”
He was cut from his thoughts by an unnecessarily loud voice he recognized almost immediately. Ah, right. He still had work to do.
“What is it this time, Gumshoe?” Edgeworth asked with as much false patience as he possibly could muster. The man was a good and sincere person, but simply put he was terrible at his job. Along with a few other more… unique coworkers, the office often felt like a circus.
“Sir! Ms. Skye got those snacks of hers stuck in the printer again, and now there’s all this smoke coming from it!” Gumshoe exclaimed, and Edgeworth could almost feel his coworker’s panic. He was pretty sure Gumshoe was at least a little bit scared of Ema, and really, who wouldn’t be. That girl had no fear and no sense of self preservation. It was pure luck that no higher ups had caught her doing anything stupid yet. Actually, maybe it was some kind of sixth sense.
Edgeworth did not want to handle this right now. He could almost feel the stress migraine already creeping to his head and stabbing him with that knife of burning, throbbing pain. He still had an hour of this to go, but he simply couldn’t deal with this kind of environment today. It was time to do something somewhat dishonorable.
“Actually, Gumshoe, I’m not feeling too well. I think I’m going to end the day early and go home to rest. Please get Ms. Faraday from department two to handle the printer issue.” He lied quickly, mentally beating himself up for using such shameful tactics to get away from this bothersome issue. Maybe it would be okay to run away from his problems every once in a while. It would mean that he could take his trip to the market earlier this time, so Pess wouldn’t be as cranky this time.
He didn’t wait for a reply or a confirmation, just quickly packed up his things and rushed out of the office building like he’d forgotten to turn off he oven. If he stayed here any longer, he’d probably go insane before too long. Meeting the warm air and cloudy skies again, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The city was foggy and rain softly drizzled down from the sky- making the place feel surreal, almost empty. Well, it obviously wasn’t empty because there were cars driving all around, but it still felt like Edgeworth was alone. It wasn’t like he knew any of these people and their complex inner workings, their dreams and pasts and truths. To him they were just workers in the same big ant colony, just like he was for all of them. With a quiet sigh he entered his car and left the anthill behind.
The whole city was just plain depressing and dull, so it was freeing to momentarily abandon it. He almost felt rebellious. Like he was on the run from something more than just the exhaustion and headaches. But in the end, nothing would change if he left for a moment. Hell, nothing would change if he left for good. What would the colony care if one single ant was missing?
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It wasn’t easy to drive amongst all the fog as it made every small thing you could even pretend to call a landmark almost invisible. He had his navigator of course, but reading the tiny screen was a hassle, and he was not turning on the annoying narrator voice. At least the route was mostly just driving forward endlessly towards his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Well, jar of gold in this case.
The way to the village felt much shorter this time. He also felt that his anxieties were eased slightly. This time he knew what he was in for, and even knew that the salesperson was a normal human being with good social skills, and not someone who’d try to sell him honey scented essential oils or some kind of placebo honey cream. It was almost as if the soft fog seemed to lift or simply vanish upon entering the town. Driving through such a pretty and small streets lined with pastel colored houses and fruit trees with a bright red sports car probably wouldn’t ever not feel weird to both him and the locals, but that was a small price to pay for what awaited him.
The market seemed less busy today when Edgeworth exited his car. There were still multiple booths and stands present, but it seemed that most inhabitants of the town were still at work. Just like you’re supposed to be, his brain helpfully supplied, and he felt the sudden and unexpected urge to slap himself in the face. However, he was now an already strange looking visitor, so there was no way he was going to look like even more of a madman. His one and only mission was to walk through the marketplace like a normal person. Right foot, left foot, then repeat. Walking, Edgeworth. Do you know what that is? Stop overthinking things.
He mostly succeeded. Everything was going fine until one fateful step. Edgeworth’s shoe, meet loose paving. Loose paving, meet Edgeworth’s shoe.
There was no slow motion falling like in the movies, no knight in shining armor to catch him in their arms. Just pain and a splash as he fell on his knees into a puddle. The cold water met his clothes and Edgeworth wanted to die in a hole in the ground.
“Oh no, are you okay?”
Edgeworth looked up, and then proceeded to want to die even more. It was the cute beekeeper, who had apparently rushed out of his booth and was now offering his hand to help him up. It looked like there was a knight in shining armor after all, if overalls and a blue flannel shirt could be considered armor. Edgeworth was dumbfounded for a second before he reached out and took the hand that was offered with his own gross and apparently now also bloody one.
“I think so, thank you. It does look like I’m bleeding the slightest bit, though. My apologies for causing a scene…”
“No, no, it’s no problem at all! Come with me, I have bandaids.”
Without waiting for a response, Wright was leading him to his stand by the hand he still hadn’t let go of. Not that there was anything wrong with that, because Edgeworth definitely wasn’t thinking about how soft Wright’s hand was. Maybe honey could be used in moisturizer too?
The stand looked the same as it had on his first visit. Some of the products were different, but there were still plenty of bees buzzing around and it had that unique charm to it that Edgeworth couldn’t quite put his finger on. One bee flew right to him and landed on his arm, curiously exploring his brightly colored suit. At least this time he’d been prepared for bees.
“That one’s Maya, she’s my right hand girl!” Wright spoke cheerfully from behind the counter where he was digging through a backpack for something. Oh god, did this man actually recognise every individual bee? Did they all have names? How could a bee be anyone’s right hand man? Said bee, Maya, seemed very content resting on his arm, and he had no heart to shove it off. That and he could get stung, which Wright might take offense to.
“Aha!” Wright exclaimed triumphantly and held up a small packet. He handed it to Edgeworth with a bright smile like he was incredibly proud of himself. Edgeworth took out two bandaids and took off the protective paper to apply them. Oh no, they have little sunflowers on them. That shouldn’t have any right to be endearing.
“Thank you very much. I’m actually here to buy- What are you doing with that?”
Wright was handing him a folded piece of clothing of some kind. It was dark blue, slightly worn yet very much clean.
“It’s a coat, so you don’t get sick because of your wet clothes. You’re meaning to come back, right? I mean you were here once before, so… You can just return it the next time you stop by!” Wright explained like it was the simplest thing in the world, rubbing the back of his neck in what could have been anything from awkwardness to timidness. Edgeworth couldn’t once again do much more than stare at him like a fool. This man actually remembered him, just another customer, even though it had been a whole week?
“You… aren’t afraid that I’ll steal it?”
“Of course not! Consider it small town hospitality, yeah?”
Edgeworth finally reached out and took the coat, the soft fabric almost reminding him of a warm blanket. “I… I see. Thank you, Wright,” he spoke quietly while removing his suit jacket and replacing it with the one he just received. It was much warmer, and the scent of laundry detergent was much more clear since it was unfamiliar to him. “I suppose the least I can do is buy some of those honey cookies along with the jar I originally came here to buy.”
“Coming right up!” Wright chirped, flicking off a strand of unruly hair from his forehead and packing the things he’d requested in a small paper bag. Edgeworth paid the proper amount, absolutely not noticing the quick second their hands touched as he handed over the money. Damn his touch deprived self.
“Sorry once again for causing trouble. And apologies for the way I acted last time, I’m not sure what I was thinking.”
“The way you acted? I don’t remember anything odd.”
“I see. I suppose it’s better that way,” Edgeworth spoke with a ghost of a smile involuntarily invading his facial features. If Wright didn’t remember his comment about marriage, he was more than happy. That meant he didn’t have to dig himself a hole to crawl into. He placed the paper bag neatly into one of the large pockets of his borrowed jacket and with a quick wave, he was off.
“Come back soon, Edgeworth!”
The fact that Wright had remembered his name would only hit him much later.
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He was driving back home when he realised it. It wasn’t getting dark yet, but it most likely would soon. He was halfway home, humming along to the soundtrack of the second Steel Samurai movie. Feeling calm and pleased, not in a rush. Exactly what he’d needed. However, his peace would not last for much longer, because it soon dawned on him.
There was a bee in his pocket.